Chapter 26: A legendary figure, like a banished immortal.
Xie Yunying smiled on the surface, but in her heart she was frantically shouting to the system: "System, system, take a look! Is this person Xie Qingyu from the original book?"
The system compared the images: "Uh...it seems so. He looks exactly like Xie Qingyu from the original book."
Xie Yunying slowly typed out a question mark: "There shouldn't be anything like disguise techniques in this world, right?"
System: "No, host."
So, does that mean she guessed wrong? Xie Yunying stared at Xie Qingyu with a belly full of doubt.
Xie Yueshuang stepped forward with a smile: "Big brother, how have you been?"
While Xie Yueshuang and Xie Qingyu were exchanging pleasantries, Xie Yunying said to the system, "System, I just remembered something. In Xie Yunying's storyline, the Yuan family would come to propose marriage in the spring. But now that Xie Qingyu is back safe and sound, Wang Shi won't die of heart failure from the grief of losing her son. If the Yuan family comes to propose marriage, won't she be the first to refuse?"
"Forget about the main storyline, I can't even get past Xie Yunying's storyline!"
The system was already embarrassed: "The host is right, that's definitely true..."
Xie Yunying was speechless: "I'm too lazy to complain... Hurry up and give feedback, hurry up and do it."
Xie Yunying sighed, and when she looked up again, she suddenly met Xie Qingyu's gaze. He was standing with Xie Yueshuang, but his gaze was directed past the older sister in front of him and onto her.
How long has Xie Qingyu been staring at her?
Xie Yunying froze, quickly adjusting her expression, but cold sweat was pouring down her face.
Xie Qingyu seemed oblivious to anything, and when their eyes met, she remained unfazed, gesturing before looking away, maintaining a polite smile throughout.
......
"Has the eldest son of the Xie family recovered from his illness?"
As Yue Yining pushed open the door and entered, she happened to hear this sentence, and her action of closing the door paused.
Wei Yihua sat behind the central altar, where golden light filtered down in rows, illuminating the smoke from the burning incense in the air like brocade. Two young female officials attended her, and the three appeared to be discussing matters, but their tone was clearly one of intimate banter.
This was Yue Yining's second day living in the princess's residence. Despite the cold of winter, the room was as warm as late spring.
The female official in the dark blue robe exclaimed in surprise, "Is this true? Didn't they say he'd been bedridden for almost half a year? I thought the Prime Minister's residence would have issued an obituary before the new year."
The female official in the royal blue down jacket chuckled, "Isn't that right? Once he recovers, someone will be worried! Your Highness, don't you think so?"
Wei Yihua was exasperated and was about to reprimand him when she looked up and saw Yue Yining closing the door: "Is it Master Yue?"
The other two female officials turned to look at her. Yue Yining approached with a smile under everyone's gaze: "The three of you seem to be having an elegant conversation? I fear it would be impolite of me to enter so abruptly."
"Not at all, not at all!" The lady-in-waiting in the sapphire blue coat stepped forward affectionately and took her arm. "Please sit down. His Highness specially saved a cushion for you, just waiting for you!"
“Okay…” Yue Yining was taken aback by her overly familiar manner and obediently found an empty seat to sit down.
Wei Yihua introduced: "This is Lord Qiu, currently serving as a sixth-rank Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel; this is Lord Shen, currently serving as a fifth-rank Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."
The female official in the sapphire blue jacket stuck out her tongue: "Lord Qiu sounds so old, you don't need to call me that! My name is Qiu Yuebai, just call me by my name!"
The female official in the dark blue robe nodded to Yue Yining, appearing much more composed: "Master Yue, it's a pleasure to meet you. My surname is Chen, and my given name is Liude."
Yue Yining returned the greeting: "I am Yue Yining, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"I think I interrupted your conversation when I came in just now? Please don't mind me, you can continue your talk."
Qiu Yuebai and Shen Liude exchanged a glance, and Qiu Yuebai chuckled: "Actually, it's nothing. We were just talking about the eldest son of Prime Minister Xie, who is recovering from a long illness."
Yue Yining became a little curious: "The Xie family, the head of all the aristocratic families?"
Shen Liude: "Yes. Has Master Yue ever heard of the eldest son of the Xie family?"
Yue Yining shook her head: "No."
Qiu Yuebai continued, “He was an incredibly handsome man! Although I have never met him in person and only glanced at his portrait, even just a portrait was enough to make people marvel at his appearance.”
"At last year's Spring Festival banquet in Yanjing, a poem selected as a masterpiece praised his elegance. I read it, and one line in particular was truly vivid: 'The jade forest is ultimately separated from the dust of the world; look at him in his crane-feather cloak, still a banished immortal.'"
No matter how much this mortal world is embellished and beautified, it would never be mistaken for a celestial paradise. But when he stood there draped in a white crane cloak, he truly resembled a banished immortal, his beauty forming a barrier of its own, a breathtaking sight that should not have descended to the mortal world.
Yue Yining: "Indeed, he is quite handsome. He must be a very good-looking young man."
"However, if a nobleman is only exceptionally handsome, he may easily be criticized."
Shen Liude: "A beautiful face cannot conceal a foolish heart. Xie Qingyu is not just a pretty face; otherwise, she wouldn't have risen to the position of Vice Minister at such a young age."
"Although being the son of Prime Minister Xie, he must have had a smooth life and received many promotions, Xie Lianquan, the second son of the Xie family, who has also been in officialdom for several years, is far inferior to Xie Qingyu in terms of both political achievements and reputation. This shows that Xie Qingyu's current status is due to his own outstanding abilities, not entirely because he has a good father."
Yue Yining laughed and said, "That sounds truly remarkable. Such a gentleman must be the dream man of countless unmarried women in the capital."
Wei Yihua kept looking at Yue Yining, who was casually propping her arm up, dressed in a blue robe, her demeanor cool and aloof. Although she didn't let the words fall, she didn't say much either, clearly showing her absent-mindedness.
Shen Liude: "However, Yuebai didn't bring up this person to gossip about others. She just wanted to use the eldest son of the Xie family to tease the princess."
Wei Yihua wholeheartedly agreed: "That's right."
Qiu Yuebai exclaimed, "My God, how could you put such a huge accusation on my head? If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a reason!"
A clear laugh rang out from inside the hall. Yue Yining glanced at the eldest princess and finally became interested: "Could it be that the eldest princess has a connection with this eldest son of the Xie family?"
Mentioning this, Qiu Yuebai got really excited. She said mysteriously, "Guess how old the eldest son of the Xie family is this year?"
"Twenty-five years old! And he still doesn't have a concubine. Do you know what that means? Among the sons of the gentry in the capital, there are only two young men like him, one of them and the other of the eldest son of the Yuan family. The eldest son of the Yuan family has a terrible reputation, and no family wants to associate with him, which is why he is still unmarried. But the eldest son of the Xie family is different. He is handsome, well-mannered, and holds an important official position. In previous years, it could be said that he was observing mourning for his grandfather. In the past two years, the mourning period has ended, and matchmakers have been knocking down the door of the Xie family to propose marriage, but there has still been no news of any progress."
Shen Liude: "Let me tell you. Actually, a few years ago, the current emperor mentioned that he wanted to marry his beloved eldest princess to a young talent from a prominent family. At that time, the most recognized young man among the noble families was Xie Qingyu, the eldest son of the Xie family. What's even more interesting is that Prime Minister Xie agreed at the time."
"So even now, it is still rumored in the capital that the eldest son of the Xie family is the princess’s chosen husband. Since the princess has not given her approval, Xie Qingyu cannot propose marriage first."
Wei Yihua slammed down her teacup and scoffed, "This is utterly absurd. Even I, the protagonist of this rumor, have never heard of it. I have no idea who started this rumor, and they've made it sound so convincing."
Her gaze was sharp, and her calligraphy, written with bold strokes, was vigorous and unrestrained: "My father is old and has long been unable to deal with the powerful families. Without an imperial decree, how can such light rumors really affect the marriages of those illustrious families' sons? Xie Qingyu probably doesn't want to be engaged, but he's using me as a shield to appear righteous. I haven't even met him once, yet he's already pairing me with him. What a cunning scheme."
Qiu Yuebai chuckled: "Some people in the aristocratic families these days are really shameless when it comes to making a good impression. But Your Highness, do you really have absolutely no interest in that eldest son of the Xie family?"
Wei Yihua: "Come on, I have no interest in sickly men who are bedridden for half a year after getting sick. I don't want to become a widow at such a young age."
"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Qiu Yuebai laughed so hard she almost fell over.
Shen Liude also found it amusing, but seeing Yue Yining's wide eyes, he kindly explained to her, "Master Yue, please forgive her. That's just how Her Highness the Princess is. As you work with her for a while, you'll see more of her sharp tongue."
Yue Yining was a little stunned at first, but seeing this heartwarming scene, she couldn't help but smile.
She replied, "No, I think a personality like the eldest princess's is quite endearing."
Wei Yihua naturally heard it; she coughed, and her ears turned suspiciously red.
“By the way, I called Master Yue here not to introduce you two, it almost ruined our business.” Wei Yihua put down her pen and stood up. “Master Yue, come with me for a bit, I want to introduce you to someone.”
Yue Yining: "Okay."
After bidding farewell to the two ladies-in-waiting, Wei Yihua and Yue Yining left the residence and boarded a carriage. Some time passed, and when the carriage stopped again, Yue Yining followed the princess alighting. Thick, golden clouds hung overhead; it was already noon.
Yue Yining saw a familiar person at the door. She was stunned for a moment, and the other person had already stepped forward. "Master Yue, it's been a long time."
Wei Yihua was still ahead of Yue Yining, but was ignored. She found it amusing: "What, does Third Brother think I don't exist?"
Wei Ye suddenly felt a little awkward, and he quickly said, "Hua'er too, it's been a long time."
Yue Yining was somewhat surprised that Wei Yihua had brought her to the Third Prince's residence.
As they walked into the mansion, they were greeted by carved beams and painted rafters, gilded and embroidered decorations, covered walkways and interlocking windows, and twin towers with ridges that seemed to drape like magpie wings. Wei Ye led the two women to the council hall and then dismissed the servants. In the vast hall, only the crackling of charcoal in the brazier could be heard.
After closing the door, Yue Yining sat down and noticed that the atmosphere between the two people already seated was somewhat strange.
Just as a hint of confusion arose in Yue Yining's mind, Wei Ye spoke in a low voice: "Master Yue."
"On the way in, did you notice anything amiss?"
Yue Yining raised an eyebrow: "Your Highness, what do you mean by that?"
“He suspects that there are spies planted in his residence,” Wei Yihua said. “My third brother has been having a lot of bad luck lately. Meetings he had arranged with other ministers have always been canceled or abandoned due to unforeseen circumstances. His discussions with his advisors about countermeasures have also been leaked one after another.”
Wei Ye: "Master Yue, I had no other choice but to ask Hua'er for help, but I never expected that Hua'er would bring you here."
"I'd like to ask, if you, Master Yue, were to encounter such a predicament, how would you first deal with it?"
Yue Yining pondered for a moment: "If it were me? Of course, the first thing to do would be to eliminate the spies. If intelligence security cannot be guaranteed, even the best plan is useless."
Wei Yihua: "I think so too, but my third brother has sent people to investigate in the mansion for ten days, but they have not found anyone to suspect."
Wei Ye said with shame, "I have too few capable people around me, and even fewer people I can trust without any suspicion. If I can't even trust the people I send to investigate the spies in the mansion, then it's impossible to investigate at all."
Yue Yining understood. The Third Prince's situation was even worse than she had expected, so contradictory and so predicament.
"So, the current task is to figure out how to find out the spies in His Highness's residence?"
Yue Yining tapped the table with her finger and suddenly smiled, "I actually have a solution."
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